Love is in the air outside of Stephen King’s house, floating like a red balloon above a clown-infested sewer drain.
Two of his fans traveled nearly 5,000 miles and got engaged in front of King’s house on Monday, and the author soon might receive a wedding invitation in the mail.
“It would be perfect to have his blessing,” the bride-to-be said, “or his curse.”
The happy couple could have even saved on the stamp and simply dropped an invitation in King’s mailbox while they were in the neighborhood.
Bruno Soler and Adriana Blasquez traveled from Brazil to Bangor, where the groom-to-be dropped to one knee in front of the wrought-iron gate leading to King’s iconic red Victorian mansion and proposed to his longtime girlfriend.
“There’s this saying from Stephen King that says, ‘Everything happens in Maine,’” Soler said. “So, I took the opportunity because she’s such a huge fan of him. …and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity in front of his house to pop the question.”
Blasquez, a hardcore King fan and constant reader, said yes — slipping the engagement ring on her finger, not far from the “Redrum” tattoo on her wrist.
“To get proposed by King’s gate was just the perfect place and time,” she said. “If people find it weird, we say that Stephen always looked for the outcasts, so he surely will look upon us.”
Blasquez read her first King book, “Pet Sematary” – when she was as she described a “shy and outcast” teenager.
“So, it really helped me through these hard times,” she said. “I grew up and [King] is always with me through his books and movies.”
“I think we always felt like outcasts, and Stephen has a kind of eye for these people.”
— Bruno Soler
She also grew up with Soler – but, despite going same to the same high school, they said they didn’t officially meet until well after graduating when both attended a mutual friend’s party in 2010. They’ve been together ever since.
“We’ve been dating for 15 years, so I think it was about time now,” Soler said with a laugh.
The proposal plan began with a spooky-season getaway from their hometown of Campinas, Brazil to the East Coast of the United States.
They booked a trip to New York to see a performance by “Halloween” director and composer John Carpenter. The event turned out to be the same weekend as New York Comic Con, adding another stop to their October itinerary.
They then realized Salem, Massachusetts and all of its witchcraft was within driving distance of New York. Bangor — featuring King’s landmarks, points of inspiration and iconic home that he still owns but does not live in — wasn’t all that much further up the coast.
“The trip started growing and growing and growing,” Soler said. “I always knew it was a dream of hers to come here to Bangor. So, I started pushing because I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to propose to her.”
Soler, a graphic designer, developed a 3-D printed ring box in the shape of a black skull — perfectly complementing the wrought-iron bats perched atop King’s fence.
He removed the ring from the box and placed it on his fiancé’s finger outside a house where far more horror was written inside its walls than love stories. The setting of their engagement story happened to be in the heart of a small town that King’s fictional city of Derry is based on in his classic “It.”
“Planning the proposal at his gate was really thoughtful and a proof of love and how much he knows about me,” Blasquez said.
The couple later took a King-themed bus excursion through the area courtesy of SK Tours of Maine – visiting sites like the sewer drain on a residential street that became King’s inspiration for Pennywise the clown who haunted Derry in “It.”
“It’s a dream come true,” Blasquez said. “A day that will be forever in my heart, for sure.”
Jennifer Millar and Jamie Tinker, a married couple who own SK Tours of Maine, said they see multiple proposals a year in front of King’s house while doing tours.
“Visiting King’s house is a pilgrimage for his fans and many couples come together over a love of King,” Millar said. “We’ve heard stories of King fans meeting and falling in love through his fan pages, at conventions.”
The tour guides even receive a handful of wedding invitations every year from tour guests.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to go to Brazil for a wedding, but I don’t know, maybe we will,” Tinker said. “That would be awesome.”
Might the the king of horror – or perhaps the king of love – be there himself?
“If he wants,” Soler said, “he will be more than welcome.”
After all, the couple said they are like many of King’s characters, and within most of his stories — even the one about a killer clown, haunted sewers and floating red balloons — love is always in the air.
“I think we always felt like outcasts, and Stephen has a kind of eye for these people,” Soler said. “His books might seem scary and violent, but the essence of many is friendship and overcoming the adversities. Horror is just a background to deeper relationships based on trust and love.”
Mark Hamill stars in “The Life of Chuck,” an adaptation of the Stephen King novel from horror master Mike Flanagan, and tells Kelly Clarkson he was surprised to discover the movie is not a horror film, but a unique and “endlessly optimistic” life story.
